Washing machine clutch mechanism



y 5, 1970 r I L. A. JOHNSON 3,509,743

WASHING. MACHINE CLUTCH MECHANISM Filed Oct. 15, 1967 2 Sheets-She et 1 r W a 2 I I I i I y I 4 E I r 2| 3! 22 I I I I I26 I I I I E II I a H 24 1 as h I S 28 I 28 I I I s e FIG.I.

WITNESSES INVENTOR W Leslie A. Johnson BY 1 W44,

AGENT May 5, 1970 L. A. JOHNSON 3,509,743

WASHING MACHINE CLUTCH MECHANISM Filed Oct. 13. 196'? 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent O 3,509,743 WASHING MACHINE CLUTCH MECHANISM Leslie A. Johnson, Mansfield, Ohio, assignor to Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Oct. 13, 1967, Ser. No. 675,153 Int. Cl. D06f 37/40; F16d 11/06, 13/04 US. Cl. 68-23.7 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates, in general, to washing machine apparatus of the centerpost agitator type and, more particularly, to clutch mechanism suitable for use therein.

If uniform cleansing action is to be obtained in a conventional oscillating centerpost agitator washer, the clothes must circulate, that is change positions with respect to each other. The regular straight bladed agitator can provide adequate circulation for small loads. This type of agitator usually has blades which are longer at the bottom than at the top, and acts as a centrifugal pump to produce a circulatory motion in the clothes being washed. However, the circulation tends to slow down and finally stop as the load size is increased. Another type of agitator which aids in circulating clothes in a washing machine is the spiral, or screw-type, the name being descriptive of the shape of the agitator blades. Because of the screw action of this type of agitator, the working stroke of the agitator pulls the clothes downward, while the reverse stroke pushes the clothes upward. However the opposite strokes are of approximately the same effectiveness as the working stroke so that there is a substantial cancellation of the circulation of clothing which greatly limits the effectiveness of the screw-type agitator system.

One attempt at providing a machine in which the abovementioned cancellation does not take place, resulted in the use of a spring clutch coupling the clothing or spinner basket to a stationary part of the machine through the gear frame. It was found that this solution worked well where the clutch was not required to operate in an oil bath.

Accordingly, it is the general object of this invention to provide a new and improved washing machine apparatus.

It is a more particular object of this invention to provide a new and improved washing machine apparatus wherein superior circulation of the clothes to be washed is accomplished.

Another object of this invention is to provide, in a washing machine apparatus, a new and improved clutch mechanism which can be inexpensively manufactured.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a new and improved coil spring clutch mechanism which is suitable for operation when submersed in oil.

The abovecited objects are accomplished by providing, in washing machine apparatus, a spinner basket in which 3,509,743 Patented May 5, 1970 clothes are placed to be washed which is free to move in one direction in response to oscillation of the agitator, but is prevented from moving in the other direction when the agitator reverses. This lack of freedom of rotation in one direction of the spinner basket causes an overall change in position of the clothes for each oscillatory cycle of the agitator, thus providing increased circulation of the clothes for improved cleansing action over other conventional types of washers.

To ensure movement of the spinner basket in only one direction, a clutch mechanism comprising a pair of coaxial hubs and a helical coil spring serve to couple the spinner basket to a stationary part of the washing machine apparatus through the transmission gear frame. The hub carried by the stationary member is provided with a plurality of equally spaced longitudinal or axial flats on the outside diameter thereof to provide for escapement of oil from between the spring and the hub carried by the stationary member. This arrangement improves the response characteristics of the clutch to the point where gripping of the hub on the stationary member is substan tially instantaneous, where, heretofore such was not the case in prior art constructions.

These and other objects and advantages will become more apparent when considered in view of the following specification and drawings, in which:

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of a washing machine apparatus representing the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the base of a stationary casing which supports an important element of a clutch mechanism forming a part of the invention; and

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of a helical coil spring and hub member forming a part of a clutch mechanism incorporated in the washing machine illustrated in FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to FIG. 1, an outer tub 2 is shown rigidly secured to a gear housing 4 through the bolts 6 and 8. Together the outer tub 2 and the gear housing 4 form a stationary structure. A pulley 10, which is driven by an external motor, not shown, is connected to a driving shaft 12 which is supported by a bearing structure 14 and extends into a gear frame 16. Within the gear frame 16 is a gear train (not shown) driven by the shaft 12. The general arrangement of the gear train and frame is of well known construction in the art, with the output provided at an output shaft 18 driving the agitator in oscillating fashion during the wash and rinse portion of the washing machine cycle. The output shaft 18 is supported by a bearing structure 20 and extends up through the outer tub 2.

The output of the transmission is of the coaxial type in which an inner shaft of the coaxial structure oscillates the agitator when the input shaft 12 is rotated in one di rection, and the outer spin tube of the structure is used for the spin cycle of the washing operation, the spin cycle occurring when the input shaft 12 is rotated in the opposite direction.

In the present example, the inner shaft of the coaxial driving shaft 18 is the inner drive shaft 21, and the outer tubular member is the upper spin tube 22. Fitted over the upper spin tube 22 is a basket hub 24, which is rigidly keyed to the spin tube 22. Secured to the basket hub 24 is the spin basket 26 which is fixed to the basket hub through the bolts 28. The spin basket 26 is concentrically disposed with respect to the outer tub 2 and serves to hold 3 clothing to be washed. Various apertures (not shown) are provided in the side walls of the spinner basket 26 so that Washing fluid may readily pass into and out of the basket.

An agitator 30 is of the screw or spiral type having blades 31 which extend from the bottom of the agitator 30 and spiral around the agitator toward the top thereof. The agitator includes a shallow dome-shaped base 35 which serves as a clothes guard, a hollow post 29 secured by hub 32 to the drive shaft 21 and the blades 31. The blades include inclined plane portions and generally vertical wall portions, not shown, which spiral inwardly from the bottom to the top along the radially outer edges of the inclined plane portions. The screw action of an agitator having such a blade configuration is such that when the agitator is rotated in the counterclockwise direction the clothing contiguous thereto will be forced, or expressed in another way, screwed down, toward the bottom of the agitator, while on the other hand, when the agitator is rotated in the other direction (the clockwise direction) the clothing will be forced, or screwed up, toward the top of the agitator. If the agitator is moved equal amounts in the clockwise'and counterclockwise directions there will be a tendency to cancel any overall change in position of the clothing during one complete oscillatory cycle. However, the apparatus of the present invention overcomes this ditficulty as described hereinafter, to a greater degree than heretofore accomplished in the prior art.

The agitator member 30 is fitted over the drive shaft 18 and attached to the inner drive shaft 21 via a hub connector 32. The agitator 30 is thus driven in an oscillatory manner during the wash cycle. The spinner basket 26 is connected to the outer spin tube 22 which is not rotatable in both directions during thewash cycle, but may be rotated during the spin cycle. The agitator motion is thus independent of the spin motion. The spin tube 22, the basket hub 24, the spinner basket 26, and the gear frame 16, therefore, move and may rotate as one unit.

To provide, during the wash cycle, that the spinner basket 26 can rotate in only one direction, the basket 26 is coupled to the stationary gear housing 4 by means of a helical coil spring 34 made of steel wire and preferably having a rectangular cross section. The spring 34 is disposed partially over a first hub member 36 integral with the lower end of the gear frame 16 and partially over a second hub member or sleeve 37 pressed onto the lower end of the stationary housing or casing 4, one end of the coil spring being permanently secured to the hub member 36, in any suitable manner.

The housing 4 is suitably sealed to retain oil, not shown, for lubrication of the gears in the gear frame 16 and the parts disposed within the housing, including the spring 34 and hubs 36 and 37. The operation of the spring 34 is such that rotation of the gear frame 16 in one direction will cause the spring 34 to tighten and thus exert forces at areas indicated A and B on the outer surfaces of the hub members 37 and 36, respectively. These forces rigidly hold the gear frame 16 through the area B to the hub member 37 by exerting pressure at the area A. When rotation of the gear frame 16 is in the opposite direction, the spring 34 tends to loosen and permit the gear frame to freely rotate with respect to the stationary housing 4. The means by which motion is transmitted to the gear frame through interaction of the agitator, clothes and basket 26, is set forth in US. Pat. No. 3,264,847, assigned to the same assignee as the instant case and issued in the name L. A. Johnson et al.

Since the spring 36 has to be submersed in oil during operation, the hub member 37 as shown more clearly in FIGS. 2 and 3, is provided with a plurality of equally spaced, axially aligned flats 38 and a plurality of radiused areas 39 interposed between adjacent flats and coextensive therewith. The flats serve as passages for escapement of oil from between the spring 34 and the hub 37 to thereby improve the response time of the gripping of the radiused areas 39 by the spring 34. The response time is also improved by the reduction of the radiused area which increases the unit radial pressure on the hub thus enhancing the ability of the spring to break through the lubricating film. An added advantage of this construction is, that heavier oil may be used in the housing 4 which improves the noise dampening characteristics of the system.

In accordance with the objects of the present invention, the sleeve or hub member 37 is fabricated in accordance with a powder metallurgy process. The import of fabricating this element by such a process will be appreciated by those skilled in theart when considering the cost of otherwise providing the flats 38 on the surface of the hub member 37.

What is claimed is:

1. In apparatus having a normally disengaged helical coil clutch mechanism disposed in an oil bath,

a rotatable member,

a stationary member,

a helical coil spring member having one end secured to said rotatable member and having a number of turns overlapping the outer surface thereof,

said helical coil spring having a number of its turns overlapping said stationary member,

one of said members having a plurality of alternate chordal and arcuate areas on the surface thereof,

said chordal areas being continuous to one end of said one of said members, and

said chordal areas providing an escape path for said 011 and said arcuate areas serving as points of engagement whereby the response characteristics of said clutch mechanism is optimized.

2. Structure as specified in claim 1, wherein said chordal and arcuate areas are provided on the outer surface of said stationary member and said stationary member 1s a powder metal sleeve.

3. In clothes washing apparatus including a centerpost oscillating agitator and a rotatable clothes receiving basket,

drive means for imparting oscillatory motion to said agitator and a gear frame for housing said drive means,

said gear frame being secured to said basket for movement therewith in response to. oscillation of said agitator and movement of clothes thereby,

a sealed stationary casing in said washing apparatus,

a first hub member integral with said gear frame,

a second hub member carried by said stationary memher,

said casing enclosing said gear frame and said first and second hub members,

a coil spring member attached to said first hub member and having a number of turns overlapping the outer surface thereof,

said coil spring having a number of turns thereof overlapping said second hub member,

one of said members having a plurality of chordal flats and a plurality of arcuate areas on one surface thereof,

said chordal flats being continuous to one end of said one of said members,

said casing being filled with a lubricating fluid, and

said chordal flats providing ready escapement of fluid from between the coil spring and one of said hubs whereby immediate gripping takes place between said coil spring and said arcuate areas.

4. Structure as specified in claim 3, wherein said chordal flats and said arcuate areas are alternately spaced on the outer surface of said second hub member.

5. Structure as specified in claim 4, wherein said second hub member is a powder metal sleeve.

6. Structure as specified in claim 5 wherein said flats are qually spaced and disposed axially thereon.

(References on following page) 5 6 References Cited FOREIGN PATENTS UNITED STATES PATENTS 478,084 10/ 1951 Canada.

2,609,702 9/1952 Rogers.

2,615,543 10/1952 Maeser. r ROBERT L. BLEUTGE, Primary Exammer 2,638,791 5/1953 Rogers. 0 Us CL XR.

WOQdSOH 3,264,847 8/1966 Johnson et al. 68--23 

